Hagar, do yourself a favour & try some shoes on. Some of the shoes can be very narrow. Also the sizes seem to differ. Personally, I'm riding a pair of Specialized MTB shoes (without a ratchet) and they're great!
Sounds like very good news. Might I suggest a few "thank-you" letters to the local newspapers once the road becomes operational. This way not only do you publicly thank those concerned, but hopefully spread the news to non-cyclists about how all road users can exist together (peacefully..)
